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research article

Heterogeneous versus homogeneous electron transfer reactions at liquid–liquid interfaces: The wrong question?

Peljo, Pekka Eero  
•
Smirnov, Evgeny  
•
Girault, Hubert  
2016
Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry

Functionalization of a soft or liquid-liquid interface by a one gold nanoparticle thick “nanofilm” provides a conductive pathway to facilitate interfacial electron transfer from a lipophilic electron donor to a hydrophilic electron acceptor in a process known as interfacial redox catalysis. The gold nanoparticles in the nanofilm are charged by Fermi level equilibration with the lipophilic electron donor and act as an interfacial reservoir of electrons. Additional thermodynamic driving force can be provided by electrochemically polarising the interface. Using these principles, the biphasic reduction of oxygen by a lipophilic electron donor, decamethylferrocene, dissolved in α,α,α-trifluorotoluene was catalysed at a gold nanoparticle nanofilm modified water-oil interface. A recently developed microinjection technique was utilised to modify the interface reproducibly with the mirror-like gold nanoparticle nanofilm, while the oxidised electron donor species and the reduction product, hydrogen peroxide, were detected by ion transfer voltammetry and UV/vis spectroscopy, respectively. Metallization of the soft interface allowed the biphasic oxygen reduction reaction to proceed via an alternative mechanism with enhanced kinetics and at a significantly lower overpotential in comparison to a bare soft interface. Weaker lipophilic reductants, such as ferrocene, were capable of charging the interfacial gold nanoparticle nanofilm but did not have sufficient thermodynamic driving force to significantly elicit biphasic oxygen reduction.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1016/j.jelechem.2016.02.023
Web of Science ID

WOS:000386990000026

Author(s)
Peljo, Pekka Eero  
•
Smirnov, Evgeny  
•
Girault, Hubert  
Date Issued

2016

Publisher

Elsevier Science Sa

Published in
Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry
Volume

779

Start page

187

End page

198

Subjects

gold nanoparticles

•

soft interfaces

•

electron transfer

•

electrocatalysis

•

oxygen reduction reaction

Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
LEPA  
Available on Infoscience
February 22, 2016
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/124353
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